Wynmelvin » Cornwall

September 20th, 2009

Russell — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:06:23 +0000

WADEBRIDGE — My last day in Cornwall was a relaxing one. I headed north to Camelford and just past the market town I turned right and headed down the road to Tregoodwell and kept going until the road ran out.

The road ended in a car park just before Roughtor Ford, the site where Charlotte Dymond was murdered in 1844. Not far from the ford is a monument that was put up by public subscription in 1844 and it was this that I had come to see. The car park was a staging area for people intending to walk across Bodmin Moor to Roughtor, and I briefly entertained the idea of walking a little way onto the moor. The ground was a little boggy in places and I didn’t think my footwear was really up for the task (and that was just getting to the memorial), though I did prove the manufacturer’s claim that they were water-proofed.

Shortly before noon I headed back to the main road and proceeded towards Boscastle. Or so I thought. Amazing how disoriented you can get when you think you’re on one road when you’re actually on another. Village names that you’re not expecting appear on roadside signs so you pull over as soon as you can (which probably won’t be for miles) and take a look at the map for the last village you passed through. Of course you’re looking at that part of the map where you thought you were! Eventually I found out where I was and headed towards Boscastle (for real).

Which reminds me that I filled the car with petrol yesterday at £1.09/litre (which I think is the equivalent of about NZ$2.51/litre). The car seems to do about 100 miles/quarter tank. After filling up the display told me I could travel 431 miles before running out of petrol.

On my last visit to Cornwall, Boscastle had been hit by a flash flood a little more than a month earlier and the road down to the village had been closed to tourists. This time the road was open so I made my way down to the village. After parking and paying the fee, I had lunch at a café in the village and then walked down to the harbour entrance. Once again the tide was out so the few boats moored in the harbour were high and dry on the sand.
After spending a few hours enjoying the sunshine wandering around the village and harbour I headed back to Wadebridge.

September 19th, 2009

Russell — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:47:16 +0000

WADEBRIDGE — Today I went on a tour of parish churchyards in search of more ancestors. First stop was St Merryn, not far from Padstow. A banner outside the church proclaimed that it was celebrating its 750th anniversary—1259-2009. I didn’t find any family names though, so it was off to the second stop on my tour: St Wenn.

St Wenn was yet another picturesque village church and knowing that I had family from this parish I was very pleased to find a couple of tombstones.

The next parish on my list was Roche. Finding my way there was easy enough but a wedding was about to start so I carried on to Luxulyan with the intention of retuirning later in the afternoon.
The churchyard of the Luxulyan parish church was overgrown though I later found a notice saying that it was part of a Living Churchyard Project where the environs of the churchyard is managed in such a way as to encourage the proliferation of both plants and wildlife—hence, I suppose, the overgrown look. I didn’t find any family tombstones, but I wasn’t really expecting to as the family presence in Luxulyan was in the early 1700s and readable tombstones from that period tend to be quite rare.

Making my way back to Roche I caught sight of a stone building that was appearing to grow out of a rocky outcrop. This is, I understand, the ruins of a chapel on Roche Rock and was supposed a one time to have been the home of a hermit. It looked very unworldly.
The wedding was just finishing so I went and found somewhere to park the car and walked back to the church. After exploring the churchyard I returned to the car and discovered a football game had started near where I had parked, so I went in and had a look.
The game was being held at the home ground of the the Roche AFC so I suppose one of the teams was Roche! I have no idea who the other team was. I watched the game for twenty minutes or so before heading back to Wadebridge.

September 18th, 2009

Russell — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 20:06:00 +0000

WADEBRIDGE — I’m glad I went to Padstow on a weekday. Even at 9:30 in the morning there were crowds of people wandering the streets. I can only imagine what it will be like at the weekend. After enjoying the harbourside scenery for a while I wandered up to the Padstow Parish Church. I was hoping to find the headstone of one James Dark, master mariner and second husband of my lost great great grandmother—with a bit of luck I might find her if they happen to share a headstone.

I did managed to find James Dark, but he shared the headstone with his first wife, Grace. Elizabeth Dark is still frustratingly lost. The church was open so I went inside and had a brief look around. They were preparing for a wedding and then a funeral later in the afternoon with another wedding tomorow. Could help to explain the crowds!
It was then back to the waterfront and some fish and chips for lunch before I managed to find the Padstow Cemetery. No luck there either.

On to the parish church at St Issey, a village on the road to Padstow. I was going to stop at Little Petherick first but I missed the turn-off to the car park. I figured I’d come back after visiting St Issey.
Once again I didn’t find Elizabeth Dark, but I did find the headstone for Thomas Popelstone Lake, a great granduncle who was accidentally drowned in 1846. The churchyard at St Issey was interesting as the headstones had all been moved to the periphery leaving large areas of open green grass around the church.

I then headed back to Little Petherick which has the smallest churchyard I’ve seen yet—so it didn’t take too long to not find Elizabeth!

Another old plaque, this time attached to the side of the St Issey Parish Church:

TAKE NOTICE
ANY PERSON
or persons who shall be found
treading down the Grass or
anywise injuring the Grass
and Tombstones
or doing any sort of damage
in this Church yard shall be
prosecuted according to the law

September 17th, 2009

Russell — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:44:27 +0000

WADEBRIDGE — Today I drove to Bodmin to visit two tourist attractions with a crime and punishment theme. I found a car park easily enough, but being at the bottom of a hill I figured the way to go was up—wrong! I ended up walking twice the distance I needed to if I’d gone in the other direction.
The first attraction was The Courtroom Experience where you sit in on a famous Cornish murder trial as a member of the jury and cast your vote at the end.

It is held in Courtroom No. 1 in what was once the County Court but is now the Shire Hall. The drama presented is the trial of Matthew Weeks for the murder of Charlotte Dymond in 1844. The case against Matthew was based on circumstantial evidence but he was found guilty and hanged in August 1844.
Afterwards, we were taken down to see the holding cells where prisoners awaiting their turn at trial were kept. They are extremely small as they were designed to rstrict the prisoners ability to harm themselves or attempt to escape. Seeing them was particularly poignant as Josiah Hewitt would have been held in one of these for both his committal and trial. He may also have stood in the dock in Courtoom No. 1. Courtroom No. 2 now hosts an information desk, gift shop and gallery.

I discovered the shorter way back to the car and drove the short distance to Bodmin Jail. It was after noon when I arrived so I enjoyed a lunch in the jail’s restaurant and then took a look around the exhibit. Both the civil and naval wings of the jail are in ruins but the Office and Administration Block is largely intact. Each of the rooms and cells contain a tableau of a scene from either prison life or a crime committed that led the offender to become an inmate.
More family connections as at least three of my Cornish 3 × great grandfathers did time either in the jail or in the Bridewell, as did Josiah.
The jail is also supposed to be one of the most haunted places in Britain, and while I took quite a few photographs, there is nothing in them that shouldn’t be there.

September 16th, 2009

Russell — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:23:14 +0000

WADEBRIDGE — Today was almost a carbon-copy of yesterday—almost but not quite. The sky was once again overcast and so I spent the morning at the Wadebridge Public Library amongst the local history section where I found a few references to family in a history of Methodism.

In the afternoon, the skies now cloudless, I travelled to the other side of the River Camel and visited the graveyard of the Egloshayle parish church. Another very picturesque church, the surrounding yard only contains the oldest headstones, and I guess it has been weeded of headstones to reduce the appearance of overcowding. The Egloshayle Cemetery a short distance down the road contains the rest and latest. I managed to find a few more relatives (in both locations) but probably not as many as I did at St Breock. And that was the end of another fruitful day.

A interesting old carved plaque on the wall of the Egloshayle church reads:

Whoever is seen loitering
in the Churchyard or behaving
indecently in the Church during
DIVINE SERVICE
will be prosecuted
according to Law

September 15th, 2009

Russell — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:47:45 +0000

WADEBRIDGE — This morning I reacquainted myself with Wadebridge’s town centre. The book shop was still there and I bought myself a book of Wadebridge reminiscences by a late resident of the town. I had intended to also visit the library and find out what their local history section was like but the library is closed Tuesdays—a job for tomorrow instead.

In the afternoon I visited the St Breock parish church and explored its graveyard looking for family. I found quite a few that I know are in the family tree and quite a few more that could be. Not all of the headstone inscriptions are in good condition, so as well as photographing them I also transcribed them in case the photos came out unreadable.
Not a very busy day but a rewarding one nonetheless.

September 14th, 2009

Russell — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:17:34 +0000

WADEBRIDGE — My stay in Truro was over, so it was time to check out of the Donnington Guesthouse. My first choice for accommodation in Truro didn’t reply to my enquiries so it was serendipitous that I found the Donnington with its close proximity to the Cornish Record Office—only a three minute walk away. I’m not sure why they don’t advertise that fact, except perhaps they don’t need to! The car park was full to overflowing every night.

Leaving Truro, I headed to St Austell which was where my 3 x great grandparents, Hugh Hewitt and Sarah Knight, got married in 1815. I found the parish church in the centre of the town, which was smaller than I had been expecting. Once again I followed the signs to the first car park which once again meant a trudge up a hill.

From St Austell I moved on to the port of Charlestown where china clay used to be exported to the world. These days the ships are too big to enter the harbour, but there is a tall ship berthed there that one can have a look over. I didn’t—instead I visited the Shipwreck & Heritage Centre which told the stories of the myriad of ships that have been wrecked off the British coast—with displays of some of the items salvaged from the wrecks.

After having lunch I moved on to Fowey to have a look at St Catherine’s Castle, which isn’t really a castle but a coastal fort built by Henry VIII. Getting there meant locating the car park, walking down to Money Ready Beach, across the beach, and then up a steep path to the fort on St Catherine’s Point. Fowey was very picturesque, but as I’m finding all too often, scenes just crying out to have a photograph taken are in the middle of a no parking zone!

Arrived in Wadebridge on the Egloshayle side of the Camel River but managed to find the bed and breakfast without referring to a map. I received a very warm welcome and am very much looking forward to my time here.

September 13th, 2009

Russell — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:38:24 +0000

TRURO — On Friday I visited Blue Hills where they demonstrated how tin-bearing ore was processed. Today I visited the Poldark Mine just north of Helston where you can descend into what used to be a working tin mine and imagine just a little what it would have been like working underground for hours on end.

The guided tour took about an hour and you had to wear a hard hat at all times. Which was just as well, because even though I was very concious of raising my head too early after yesterday, I still managed to scrape the roof of the mine. In places the passage wasn’t much over four feet in height. We descended to about 190 feet below ground and it was wet. Apparently 150,000 litres of water per day is pumped out of the mine.
The mine was started in the early 1700s and was worked for about sixty years. It was then forgotten about until a farmer rediscovered it in 1972 when a big hole suddenly appeared in his field. Originally the mine was know as Wheal Roots. Apparently mines changed their names all the time to take advantage of successful associations or divest themselves of unsuccessful ones. The developer of the current tourist attraction took advantage of an association with Winston Graham’s Poldark novels and free advertising from the BBC.

After lunch in the mine’s cafeteria I thought I’d go and have a look at another fogou nearby. I’d love to be able to tell you the route I took but I don’t rightly know. I can say I ended up in St Keverne which is a long way from where I should have been. I blame it on the narrow twisting Cornish lanes. What I can say is that I had a very pleasant old-fashioned Sunday afternoon drive!

September 12th, 2009

Russell — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 22:00:53 +0000

TRURO — On the way to Penzance, I took a detour off the A30 to visit Redruth and take a few photographs. Once done it was back on the road toward Penzance. Arrived late morning and managed to find a car park beside the marina. I proceeded into town to discover that Penzance was the second town today where the main street rain uphill—or downhill if you like, but I find I’m usually starting at the bottom!

After spending a couple of hours in Penzance I returned to the A30 and headed south toward Lands End. I turned off the A30 at a hamlet called Drift and entered what seemed like a maze of narrow lanes with high hedges. Luckily I didn’t come across any onward traffic. My intended destination was the site of an ancient village called Carn Euny. Occupied for over 900 years from the fifth century BC it is now a collection of low stone walls outlining the remains of about five or six houses. The site boasts a fogou (from the Cornish word for cave) which was a stone-lined underground passage, the function of which is unknown. Exiting an internal side passage, I misjudged its length and gave my skull a good crack on the lintel stone. Luckily I was still wearing my sunhat which cushioned the blow ever so slightly.

From Carn Euny I continued south toward St Just and then followed the road on to St Ives. St Ives was very busy but I managed to find a car park without too much trouble. I walked down to Porthmeor Beach and along the road toward St Ives Harbour. After navigating a warren of narrow streets I arrived at the harbour and proceeded to stroll along the shops. The tide was out so all the boats and yachts in the harbour were high and dry and resting on the sand. I purchased some rock and bought myself an ice cream. I walked back toward the car down what I think was the main street that ran parallel with the harbour front. Every second shop seemed to be an art gallery, and every other one sold food.
I took the long way back to the car because my breadcrumbs were eaten by the seagulls!

It has been another day of outstanding weather—the fourth day in a row. The bright sunshine and consequent deep shadows makes it difficult taking good photographs quickly. So I’m kind of hoping for some greyish skies in the future—but without the rain. The forecast for tomorrow though is for more of the same.

September 11th, 2009

Russell — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:19:24 +0000

TRURO — Despite what I wrote yesterday, I went back for some more family history research—but just for an hour or so. I realised that there were some burials for which I didn’t have the details and I couldn’t rationalise coming all this way and not attempting to get them.

After finishing at the record office, I vacated my parking space (the guesthouse has been very busy this week and I wasn’t confident of finding an empty space when I returned) and drove to the beach at St Agnes at Trevaunance Cove. Just a short distance fom Truro (about nine miles) but it gave me a chance to reaquaint myself with driving in Cornwall—took a few wrong turns, and made a couple of five-point turns.

St Agnes is a picturesque village on the west coast of Cornwall in what used to be a tin mining area. The streets are quite narrow neccessitating the use of a one-way system, but I managed to find the public carpark the second time round.
The beach is a mix of stone and sand and is apparently quite a good surfing beach. You were warned off getting to close to the cliffs at one end of the cove due to a recent rockfall and the prospect of more.
I had lunch at the beach before exploring the village on foot.

Once back in the car I decided to try and locate Wheal Coates, an old tin mine now maintained by the National Trust, but I was unfortunately unable to find the access road. So I decided instead to spend the rest of the afternoon seeing Newquay, but on the way I got sidetracked by a visit to Blue Hills Tin Streams. There you can see how tin used to be extracted from alluvial and mined tin-bearing ore. Blue Hills still produces tin on a much smaller scale than it did in the past, and uses the metal to produce souvenirs of Cornwall, one of which will be making its way to New Zealand.

After leaving Blue Hills I continued on to the end of the road for another view of the Cornish coast. You could just see around the headland into neighbouring Trevaunance Cove.
And that was the end of the day.

P.S. There was a car park waiting for me when I got back.